Untold Secrets
by helpthehorriblelovethelonely
Summary: Harry gets resorted into slytherin at the start of his second year. What happens when he gets to the common room and his new head of house tells everybody that there is a mandatory infirmary visit for all the students? Some important information about the ex-gryffindor come to light, and everything changes for Harry. Creature!au


In a world where Voldemort really was defeated for good when Harry was a baby, Harry is just a normal second year student, or is he?

Harry walked onto the Hogwarts express with his friend Ron Weasley and his two older brothers, Fred and George. He was smiling and laughing at something they said. They enjoyed the long train ride to Hogwarts, sharing stories of things that had happened over the summer, as well as the twins telling the younger boys about their dream to open up their own prank shop. Harry smiled at the three red heads, tactfully ignoring their questions about his summer.

The redheads seemed to notice his hesitance and refusal, knowing they wouldn't get anything out of their friend, they changed the subject.

Harry rolled his eyes as a first year peeked their head into the compartment he was in and gaped at the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. Harry rolled his eyes once the boy had left "Geez, you survive the killing curse and kill the evilest dark lord of the century while you're a baby ONE TIME and everybody seems to go nuts over you!" he griped. He hated the attention he got from the rest of the student body, and really, the rest of the wizarding world. He smiled when his friends laughed at his sarcasm, though.

He remembered the day Hagrid came to tell him that he was a wizard, Harry had been flabbergasted, and as he visited Diagon alley with the half giant he was overwhelmed by the entire magical world. If he was honest, he wished he was just some abused muggle kid that nobody ever paid attention to like he thought he was for the first 11 years of his life. Of course, Harry wasn't even normal then, he knew, although he kept that specific secret out of his thoughts, just a precaution in case anybody could read his mind- hey, you never knew in the magical world.

Harry had met Draco Malfoy while he visited Diagon alley with Hagrid, and the blonde was fairly nice, and Harry could feel the other boy's power radiate off of him, but his pompous attitude and "Slytherin is the best house ever everyone else sucks," rant really turned Harry off to the idea of being friends with him- and then the blonde insulted his first and only friend, Ron Weasley, and suddenly they were enemies.

The three Weasleys and one raven haired boy clambered out of the train as it reached Hogsmeade, they climbed into carriages and talked amiably. When they reached the great hall, Harry listened with a small smile as the new first years were sorted. He thought back to his own sorting. He had begged the hat to put him in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin, well, more like he tricked the hat into picking Gryffindor instead of Slytherin, he smirked a little at the memory.

Harry sometimes wished that he had let the had put him in Slytherin, he knew he would be more fitted for the snake pit then the lion's den- but Harry hadn't wanted to spend the next seven years with Draco Malfoy up his ass or Severus Snape breathing down his neck. Harry shuddered a little as he thought of the sour potions master, ever since Harry's first potions lesson, the man had hated him. He called him a spoiled, arrogant brat, stating that he was so full of himself that he paraded around his celebrity title. Harry rolled his eyes at the thought, he hated being noticed, hated being Harry Bloody Potter. He found himself glowering at the table, his stomach rumbling loudly, he just wished the sorting would be over and be done with so they could eat their food, although there was only one thing that interested Harry at the table. Dumbledore stood up to welcome the new students and tell them to dig into their meals, but the sorting hat still sitting on the stool at the front of the room interrupted him.

"I demand a student be resorted!" he called into the silent great hall. Harry's eyebrows furrowed and he turned to Ron,

"does this happen often?" he whispered to his friend, Ron's eyes were wide, he shook his head,

"I'm not sure it's ever happened before." Harry turned back to the hat, curious to see who the hat was demanding to resort, possibly Hermione- the smart witch in their year, he probably decided she better fit in Ravenclaw than Gryffindor.

"HARRY POTTER" the hat yelled, and suddenly all eyes turned to Harry. Harry cowered in his seat, it was him, of course it was him, why was it always him?

Harry wanted to flee, but he put on his best mask and got up from his seat, going over to the hat and taking its place on the stool, before he placed it on his head. It fell over his eyes just like it had done the year before, except this time, Harry didn't feel as excited about wearing it.

"_tsk tsk tsk,"_ the hat admonished into his mind, Harry found himself wincing at the tone, the hat's voice gentled slightly _"You know, Mr. Potter, I have been thinking a lot about our conversation from last year," _Harry found himself cowering despite the hat's lack of a body with which to hurt him. _"very cunning thing you did, tricking me into putting you into Gryffindor, I dare say you are the first student in hundreds of years who has managed to do that." _the hat chuckled in his mind and Harry found himself trying to shrink away and pull up shields on his mind.

"_I'm fine in Gryffindor, hat, really- I am!" _Harry tried to convince the hat to keep him where he was put the year previously. The hat just chuckled again,

"_My dear boy, you may have been able to fool me last year, but I have spent the last 364 days thinking about my decision, and I have made up my mind that it should be changed." _Harry knew there was no use fighting the hat anymore, but he didn't want to accept it.

Harry sighed and his shoulders slumped, _"everybody in Slytherin hates me! I'm going to be miserable there!" _he weakly tried one last attempt to get the hat to reconsider. But the hat just laughed again, shouting "SLYTHERIN" to the great hall where everybody had been watching him sit on the stool for the better half of 5 minutes, now.

Harry flinched at the loud tone that echoed in his ears, the hat softly apologized for the volume, before Harry sighed and stood from his place, putting the hat back on the stool. There was no reaction from anybody in the great hall, Harry kept his best mask up and showed no emotion to anybody, except for the three redheads gaping at him from across the hall, he gave them a remorseful look before silently stepping over towards the Slytherin table. He sat at the far end, as far away from the others as he could. Usually when a new student was sorted into a house, the great hall clapped, but not this time, everybody remained silent, eyes still following Harry around the great hall.

Dumbledore cleared his throat to regain the attention of the students and his faculty "What an interesting start to the school year," he said, trying to lighten the mood, "dig in." was the only other thing he said before the food appeared on the tables in front of them. Harry took in all the smells of the food and finds himself slightly nauseated as he's assaulted by it. He looks down the table and spots what he's looking for, he summoned himself some black pudding, and relishes at the iron and herby taste that fills his mouth. Harry wills his magic not to react as he eats, still noticing all the stares he's receiving. He looks up at the staff table in his peripheral vision, and he can barely stop himself from flinching when he sees the pure rage on his new head of houses face. This was going to be a long year.

The meal ended around an hour later, and the students were dismissed to their dormitories. Harry followed the Slytherin students, trailing behind so he was at the very back of the line, only a few first years walked behind him. Once they got to the common room, Harry surveyed the room. It was cozy, and the enchanted window that showed the underside of black lake fascinated him, but he didn't go over to it just yet. Instead, Harry found an acceptable corner for him to hide in, his undergrown stature made it easier for him to hide from prying eyes. Nobody seemed to notice him there yet, which was good. He willed the shadows to encompass him further, and he knew he had succeeded when he saw a third year look him almost directly in the eyes but didn't seem to notice him. Harry: 1, student body: 0.

Harry watched as Severus Snape came quickly walking into the room, his robes billowing behind him. He noticed the potions master look around the common room for something, and when he didn't find what, or who, he was looking for, confusion showed on his face for a brief moment before his masks were back up and he turned to his students to make the welcome back speech.

Harry was so tired, like his magic was fading in and out of focus, like all of his energy was being drained. The common room was freezing, too, and it made him rub his hands up and down his arms to try to heat himself up, but it wasn't working. It was still early, but he just wanted to go to sleep already, to let this day end, but he had to listen to the speech instead.

"Welcome first years, to the House of Salazar Slytherin," Severus' voice was firm, yet almost kind as he spoke to the snakes. "you may have heard many things about the Slytherin house, almost all of which are prejudice and bias. I am your head of house, Severus Snape, and you can come to me with anything you may need, whether it is help on an assignment, a potion, or just an ear to listen." Severus looked around the room at all of his new students, his eyes landed in Harry's corner and the boy started slightly at the intense gaze. He knew the shadows must have flickered around him and left him momentarily visible, because he saw Severus' eyes narrow suspiciously before turning back to the rest of the Slytherins. "As head of house," he spoke again "I require a mandatory infirmary visit to all of the new and returning students. If you would line up and follow me to the infirmary, please." he finished.

'Mandatory infirmary visit?!' Harry thought to himself, suddenly his breathing sped up and panic flooded his senses. 'McGonagall doesn't do mandatory infirmary visits! shite, this is bad.' he heard his brain comment. The only thing Harry could do was snort his agreement. He started to prepare the lies he was going to tell the mediwitch as he found himself at the back of the line, trailing behind the rest of his new house.

When they got to the infirmary, Harry found another corner to lean against and hide himself in- willing the shadows in the room to once again hide him from the rest of the students. He was tired, and he hurt, and he just wanted to go to sleep already. His magic was wavering, and he hoped it was just because of a long day. He was shivering in the cold of the hospital wing, even more cold than the common room, and it seemed like the temperature was plummeting around him.

Harry waited until the second to last Slytherin went up to the mediwitch to be checked on, all the others being dismissed to bed after Pomfrey checked and/or healed them. He came out of his shadows and waited for the other student to leave, just as Pomfrey was about to call for Severus to report to him her findings, she saw Harry standing there patiently. "Oh! Mr. Potter! I hadn't seen you come in with the others!" she said, sounding shocked but pleasant none the less. Harry just gave her a tiny nod, hearing the potions master come out of the back room when he heard Harry's name. Harry took a deep breath, made sure his glamour's were in place, and sat on the hospital bed to be examined.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

Severus Snape was surprised when he heard the hat demand a resort, and he only snorted when Potters name was called. He waited annoyed as the hat seemed to take its sweet time to decide. When the amalgamation of rags called out Slytherin, Severus' annoyance turned to fury. 'Bloody Potter! Of course, it's fucking Potter! He always has to be special!' he yelled inside of his mind, grumbling quietly as he tucked into his dinner. He glanced up at the Potter boy a few minutes later and found the boy with only a small cake of blood pudding on his plate. Severus furrowed his brows in confusion as to why the boy wasn't eating 'probably overindulged himself on sweets and candy on the train.' his mind told him. Severus glared bitterly at the boy as he reinforced the image of spoiled Potter in his mind.

Severus strode into the common room only moments after all the students were gathered in there. He looked around the room, looking for the defiant face of James Potter to stare back at him, but as he finished his sweep, he realized that he couldn't find the boy- that confused him. Severus was halfway through his welcoming speech when his eyes landed in a shadowy corner at the far end of the common room. He looked into it for a moment, and suddenly the image in front of him flickered as some of the shadows fell away. Standing huddled up in the corner was one Harry Potter, 'there's the brat' Severus thought to himself. His eyes narrowed though as he took in Potters appearance, the boy was very obviously hiding, he didn't want anybody to see him and he did what he could to make sure nobody did. Suddenly Harry didn't morph into the spoiled image of James Potter that Severus always saw when he looked at the boy. Instead, he saw a scared second year Slytherin who was just trying his best to survive. 'no!' he admonished in his mind 'the boy is a spoiled brat, waited on hand and foot by his doting relatives! Do not play into his games!' Severus' mind hissed, the professor went back to his speech, finishing with the mandatory infirmary visit, he saw some of the first years pale, and he felt sympathy for them, but he didn't notice the second year starting to panic in the corner.

Severus made it to the hospital wing with his house, and when they were all inside, he looked around for Potter again, but couldn't find him. Even as the amount of people in the waiting room decreased, he still couldn't spot the boy. 'What in Merlin's name is going on here?' he thought bitterly, going back into Poppy's storeroom to see what potions she needed restocked.

"Oh! Mr. Potter!" Severus heard the medi-witch exclaim, and without even paying attention to the rest of her sentence he was walking out of the store closet to see his new student, surprised to see the empty expression of one Harry Potter.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

Harry sat on the hospital cot and tried not to wince as he sat down, sitting on a few of his bruises from the summer. If it weren't for the strong glamour's that he wore all the time, his entire body would be black and blue for the first week of school. He was grateful for his ability to hide his injuries so well. He saw Poppy wave her wand in intricate movements, Harry swallowed thickly, this was a much more advanced, and no doubt thorough, diagnostic charm than she had ever used on him before. He tried to make his magic tamper with the spell in some way, in any way, but he had to force himself not to wince when a purple glow emanated from him. Only the hurt kids got purple.

Harry watched as a list longer than he was tall printed from the tip of poppy's wand, he closed his eyes and bit his lip when he heard the gasp that followed.

Severus was watching Harry intently, and when the light that came from him was purple, Severus was taken aback 'probably from playing quidditch,' he tried to tell himself 'or from some foolish adventure he went on over the summer.' but the wariness inside of him began to grow. He seemed to feel his heart stop as he waited for the list to appear out of Poppy's wand. He expected it to stop after a few inches, but the magical parchment just kept going, and going, and going.

"Mr. Potter!" Poppy all but shouted, Harry winced as a shot of pain went through his head at the loud noise. "What happened to you?" she asked, looking between the sheet and the boy. She could see that the list was listing every bruise on the boy's body, and how those bruises came to be, kick to the stomach, punch to the face, and so many more. There weren't just bruises, oh no, there were broken bones, and badly set healed broken bones from year's prior that had to have been causing the boy issues and pain. But when she looked at the boy, he looked completely fine. The diagnostic charm went back through years of injury history, labeling all the injuries that hadn't been treated properly, hadn't been treated at all, and recent ongoing issues, as well. She gaped when the previous Gryffindor gave her an easy smile,

"Oh, I just got into a fight with a couple of school yard bullies over the summer, I'm alright now, see?" Harry lied easily, waving his hand at himself as if to emphasize the fact his skin was unblemished. He saw Severus staring at him, the man looked him up and down and then raised his wand and cast "finite incantatum". Harry knew what his professor was doing though, and as soon as the glamour's were gone, they were back up again, only a slight, almost imperceptible flicker to his appearance gave any indication that the spell had worked at all. Harry gave them a reassuring smile when he was almost sure that it looked like the spell hadn't changed anything about him "See? All good. May I go to bed now?" he asked politely, he didn't want them getting mad at him for insolence.

Poppy's eyes narrowed, the students or the headmaster would have maybe not been able to see that flicker, but Poppy had worked in this business, in this school, for far too long to not notice. She raised her wand and with a few silent wand movements, the glamour's were down, and a quick added spell made it so they couldn't be recast. She paled when she saw Harry's appearance, and she felt the hand of her colleague on her shoulder, trying to stabilize himself.

Harry just kept that innocent smile on his face, not realizing that the glamour's were gone. There wasn't an inch of the boy that wasn't bruised, and they ranged in healing from a few weeks to a few hours, she also noticed the way the boy's nose was crooked from multiple broken nose injuries, but what surprised her the most was the change in Harry's eye color. His left eye stayed green, but his right eye was a bright red. She tried not to gape. She waved her wand again and his school robes disappeared,

"Hey!" she barely heard Harry say in shock, and she didn't fail notice as goosebumps travelled over his skin from the lack of warmth. The boy was skinny, far too skinny for someone of his age. Poppy could count the boy's ribs with her eyes, seeing how they poked out from under his skin. She let out a choked sob. Poppy went back to the injury list and scanned it with her eyes trying to see what were the more important injuries that she needed to tend to. There were a few that stood out the most to her, despite the battered state of the student in front of her. "STARVATION IMMINENT" "MALNUTRITION" were at the top of the list, the spell indicating that these were the most pressing of the matters, she looked further down the list, noting something from a year and a half ago, a few months before the boy came to Hogwarts, that made her eyes widen, "VAMPIRE BITE/ TRANSFORMATION" was written in red instead of the black ink the spell usually wrote in, and directly under it was written "SUICIDE ATTEMPT".

Poppy looked over at Harry, tears in her eyes, that would explain the one red eye. Harry's smile suddenly turned into a deep frown, she knew, she knew something, he knew she knew, and she knew that he knew that she knew. Harry's magic slowly came out from inside of him, giving a warning energy to the mediwitch and potions professor. Severus gasped quietly when he felt Harry's magic come out threateningly, 'the boy is 12, how does he have such intense control of his magic?' the potions master asked himself. He finally looked at the list, reading over Poppy's shoulder, his eyes widened, and he paled, he hadn't even gotten past the first 5 injuries when he suddenly ran over to the potions closet. Harry swallowed thickly; this wasn't going to be good. He looked down at his hands and noticed that the burn scars and his crooked fingers were showing themselves.

Harry paled; the glamour's were gone. He found himself moving when Severus moved, and he jumped off of the bed and ran towards the entrance, suddenly his exhaustion was forgotten. All he could think about was getting away, getting somewhere safe, and somewhere warm. Poppy waved her wand before he could get to the door, shutting and locking it. Harry tried to pull at the handles, but they wouldn't budge. 'No! they can't know! They can't know! If anybody finds out Vernon will kill me!' was the thought that kept running through his head frantically as he pulled at the door handles more. He felt someone else coming towards him from behind, and he darted across the room, finding himself hidden under a hospital bed in a faraway corner, he guided the shadows to cover him, but it was too late, the nurse had already seen where he had fled to.

Poppy felt her heart break as she watched Harry try to flee, when the door clicked and the second year tried pulling on it, she started to walk up to him, she's about to open her mouth to speak when the boy dodged away, she spots his feet slide under a bed across the room before she sees the shadows engulf him 'from the vampiric magic, no doubt,' she thought to herself. She kept an eye on the bed Harry had slid under, knowing if she looked away, she wouldn't be able to remember or tell which bed it was that he was under.

"Severus," she called, her voice shaky, "Severus I need some assistance!" Severus came out of the potions closet with his arms full of vials of potions and salves. When he looked around the room he frowned, realizing Potter was nowhere to be found. "He is under that bed," Poppy said softly, pointing at the bed in question. "I won't be able to get him out on my own."

Severus nodded in understanding; he placed the potions down on the table next to the bed they had examined Harry on. He knew she needed help casting a body bind on the student so he would stay still. He didn't like forcing his students to receive medical attention, but drastic times call for drastic measures. Poppy focused on the bed she watched Harry go under, and she lifted it quickly, shocking the boy underneath. Despite the shadows doing their best to hide Harry, Severus was still able to cast a body bind that hit its target. The shadows dissipated as Harry fell to the floor, unable to move.

Poppy felt her heart break even more when she saw tears roll down the frozen face. She put the bed down and levitated Harry over to the other bed he was once in.

"Harry," poppy called to him softly, Harry felt like he was floating, his panic and magic being the only thing to guide his actions while he tried to run away. He slid under the bed but knew it had been too late when he heard Poppy call for his new head of house. He contemplated jumping out the window to escape the situation, but he shook his head a bit. He gasped when seemingly at the same time the bed was lifted, revealing his hiding spot, that the body bind hit him. Now he was laying in the hospital bed, immobile, with tears streaming down his face. He moved his eyes over towards he mediwitch as she called his name. She seemed to relax when she noticed the preteen was listening.

"Harry, everything is okay, you are safe here." she tried to sooth, but that only made Harry's magic quiver around her as his tears began falling faster, his exhaustion was coming back far worse than it had been before his escapade. "Harry, Professor Snape and I are going to try to heal you now, you have a lot of untended injuries that need to be sorted out." His magic started to tremble, and Poppy knew that this was going to be one of her more difficult cases. She turned to Severus "How far down the list did you get?" she asked, trying to ignore Harry's distressed magical signals.

"Only about five or six injuries down when I noticed the starvation and malnutrition. I went to get nutrition potions and bruise salve as fast as I could, those seemed to be the most pressing of matters at the moment." He answered, picking the potions he had dropped on the table up and arranging them neatly in a line. Poppy shook her head and showed him the red words, and what was listed right under it. Severus paled, he looked over at Harry and stepped closer to him, trying to be as not menacing as possible.

"Mr. Potter, when was the last time you fed?" Snape asked in a gentle tone. Harry let out a small whimper as his eyes moved to his professor. Severus was surprised when he heard Harry's voice in his own mind "I had blood pudding at the feast, but I've never actually had a real feeding." while Severus was shocked at the boys telepathy, he was even more shocked by the answer "Harry!" he asked astounded "How have you not gone insane? And more importantly, where is your sire?" he sounded outraged, and Harry couldn't help the whimper that flooded through the sudden telepathy connection between the two.

"What is a sire?" Harry asked, Severus shook his head "Never mind that! These won't work!" he exclaimed, sending the nutrient potions back to the supply cupboard. He summoned a house elf who entered the room with a pop "yes mister Severus and madam Pomfrey?" the house elf squeaked, "I need a goblet full of animal blood, whatever you can get ahold of the fastest." He informed, and the house elf popped away.

Harry could feel as his energy started to drain, as his magic faded away. "Professor…" Harry whispered in Severus mind, Severus turned sharp black eyes to the boy who's eyes were starting to close. Harry had felt this feeling before, right before he was turned, and he realized he had been feeling it all day without realizing it. His life force was draining as he laid on the bed. "Professor, I'm so tired," Severus could feel the boy fading, he went up to him and tried to find a place to take hold of his shoulders that would hurt the boy the least, he almost pulled his hands away when he felt how cold and clammy his skin was, like the boy was incased in ice. He then shook him, Harry's eyes cleared a bit, but it was only a few seconds before they were falling shut again.

"Harry," Severus called out, his voice firm, he could hear madam Pomfrey in the background performing healing spells to try to get some of the lesser injuries taken care of before they had to start working on the things that would hurt. "Harry you have to stay awake until the house elf gets back, come on, stay with me, it's okay, you can go to sleep soon, I promise. In fact, I have a potion for you that will let you sleep for as long as your body needs to heal, doesn't that sound nice?" he was trying not to sound panicked as he felt the boy in front of him fading. He felt Harry hum into his mind "mmm, sleep, sounds so nice," he shook the boy again when he saw his eyes drooping even more.

When he heard a pop behind him, he turned so quick he was surprised he hadn't fallen over from the momentum. The house elf had a large goblet of blood in their hand, Severus didn't care to know where it came from, he just cared that it was blood. He took it from the elf and dismissed them, before turning back to his student and sitting the boy up, coaxing the blood down his throat. Once the goblet was empty, Severus laid Harry back down. "so good," he heard the boy mumble into his mind. Severus sighed when he realized Harry's magic stopped fading, he was worried that it was going to fade away into nothingness.

Now that he knew Harry was stable, he grabbed the potions he needed to give the boy, he once again raised him into a sitting position, this time dropping the body bind. He was there just in time to feel him crumble into his arms. Severus swallowed and tried to shush him gently, getting Harry to take the potions himself. "It is time to sleep now, Harry." he said softly as he gave Harry the medical coma potion. Harry felt relief as his eyes were finally allowed to close. "time to sleep now, Harry," he repeated to his professor in a slurred speech, finally going limp in Severus' arms.

The usually stoic man gently laid the boy down onto his back, getting to work next to Poppy.

It was 3 hours later when Poppy and Severus finally sat down, the small boy in front of them as healed as he was ever going to be. In the end, Poppy had to re-break and reset at least half of his bones. Many of his organs had been shutting down due to the starvation, which thankfully Severus halted with the retrieved goblet of blood. Severus was fuming, the boy had been turned into a vampire, and he didn't even know what a sire was! Whoever this vampire was, that turned Harry and then abandoned him when Harry needed him most as a fledgling, whoever it was, Severus was going to maim them.

"Severus," he was called out of his musings as Poppy called his name, "it is half past midnight, you should get to bed, do not worry, I will let you know if anything changes with Mr. Potter." she said, placing a soothing hand on his shoulder. Severus nodded numbly, somehow finding the energy to stand and carry himself back to his own rooms. He collapsed into bed without so much as changing clothes, almost forgetting to take off his shoes. He fell into a fitful sleep only moments later.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

It was the next morning, Severus woke early like he always did, although today he had heavy bags under his eyes and regret plastered onto his face. He stepped into the Slytherin common room, finding all of his house there except one, although he pushed the thought out of his head as he addressed his students. "I would like to remind the upper years of a few very important rules," Severus said firmly despite his exhaustion. "there will be no tormenting, harassing, or hazing to the new students. If I find out that any of you have partaken in activities such as these, you will have detention scrubbing the individual bricks along the path from the gates to the castle, with a toothbrush." He finished with a glower around the room to emphasize the legitimacy of his threat. He looked over at the second years now, Draco Malfoy had been snickering to his friends Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson. He narrowed his eyes and saw the name 'Potter' cross the blondes lips. "and that includes Mr. Potter." he added on, just to make sure his students heard him. Severus noticed as his godson looked at him incredulously, but at the look on Severus' face, the blonde shut his mouth and refrained from commenting. He noticed a couple of upper levels stiffen and then sulk, disappointment flashing in their eyes.

"If the hat has decided that Mr. Potter belongs in Slytherin, then that is where he belongs. To have thought about it so much to demand a resort is evidence enough that the hat is sure of this decision. You will welcome him into Slytherin house with the same hospitality that you show to the first years." Severus looked around the room, noticing some of them looking abashed and at the floor. He heard someone mutter the question "Where is Potter, anyway?" almost too quiet for Severus to quite hear.

Being the head of Slytherin, where students were more likely to come from unkind households than the other houses, he had devised a code system with his students to inform them of a fellow housemates condition or situation. Depending on the situation, he would tell the students that their housemate was doing a certain activity, and he would say they were doing it with a particular faculty member based on the severity. Somehow the first years always knew the code by the second day of school, and he hoped today was no different. The code went as follows.

**Slytherin code: **

**Activities and meanings: professors and severity:**

**Visiting honeydukes (meeting with the headmaster) Hagrid (1-2)**

**Cleaning the black lake (sick in their dorm) McGonagall (3-4)**

**Picking elder berries (in hospital wing for sickness) Sprout (5-6)**

**Harvesting batwings (in hospital wing for injury) Flitwick (7-8)**

**Organizing the owlry (emotionally distraught) Binns (9-10)**

** Dumbledore (11)**

Severus took a deep breath as he looked around at his snakes, he could see the curiosity in their faces, he felt it unfair to not inform them of their fellow snakes condition when he would do it for any of the other students. "Mr. Potter is currently out harvesting batwings with headmaster Dumbledore." he said loud and clear, making sure everybody in the common room could hear him. He heard gasps and outcries from his students, some in shock, some in worry, some in disbelief, and some in horror. He suddenly felt the combined magic of all the Slytherins, their worry for Harry and anger at whoever had done this to one of their fellow snakes warmed Severus a little. He gave them a nod of his head and exited the common room, leaving them to speak amongst themselves.

Harry remained in the hospital wing for over a week, and at least twice a day someone would come up and ask if Harry was still collecting batwings with Dumbledore, he usually nodded to them. On the third day, however, Draco Malfoy was the one to ask about Harrys wellbeing, usually it was an upperclassman that would tell the rest of the house, but it was Draco today. "uncle Severus is Potter still out harvesting batwings with Professor Dumbledore?" the blonde asked his godfather, his perfect Slytherin mask in place, but Severus could see the worry that was behind the mask. "No, today he is harvesting batwings with Flitwick." he informed his student, he saw a spark behind his godsons eyes, he nodded his thanks before quickly going to find some of his house mates to share the news.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

Harry finally woke up on his 9th morning in the infirmary, he gasped as a sharp pain ripped its way through his head, he heard madam Pomfrey rush over to him, waving her wand to check over his vitals, her footsteps seemed even louder against the stone floor than normal. He felt something thin and cold be thrust into his hand, and without any hesitation he uncorked the potion and downed it, sighing as the pain in his head disappeared. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up at the mediwitch "madam p-Pomfrey," his voice was hoarse from the lack of use.

Poppy smiled at the boy, she patted his thigh gently "Gave Professor Snape and I quite a scare there, Harry." she said in a soothing tone "We weren't expecting such a long list of… ailments. And what we found has us worried."

Harry paled and looked down at his lap, "I-I'm sorry," he stuttered out, wondering if he was going to be in trouble. Poppy moved her hand to place on Harry's shoulder,

"Do not apologize, dear, if anything- we should be apologizing to you." She hummed and stood up, sending a Patronus to go find Harry's head of house. Harry looked in awe at the silver misty creature that shot out of her wand, a betta fish if Harry guessed correctly. Poppy informed the fish to let Severus know Harry was awake and on the up and up, and then the fish swam through the air on a jet of silver mist out the door and down the hall.

"Lay back down, Harry, we will talk once Professor Snape gets out of classes." she said softly, using her wand to pull the blankets up around him. Harry smiled at the kind gesture and laid back to go to sleep.

Harry was gently woken up hours later, he noticed the sun was low in the sky, so he guessed it was around 4 o'clock. He looked over to find where the voices were coming from, he was met with Poppy and Severus, he squeaked softly, hiding his face under the blankets.

Severus frowned at Harry's reaction, but Poppy just smiled sadly and pulled the blanket down away from Harry's face. Harry looked like a lost child as he looked around the room, surveying where the exits were and what would be the fastest way to get to them if needed.

Harry finally sat up and leaned against his pillows. He looked down at his lap and fidgeted with his hands "Am I going to get in trouble?" he whispered.

Severus and Poppy looked at each other, and Severus' frown just deepened. "Why would you get in trouble, Harry?" he found himself speaking as gentle as possible, knowing that students in this state usually jumped at any signs of displeasure.

"B-Because," Harry stammered, taking a deep breath to collect his thoughts "because I made you do all that work, and use all those potions on me, and I made you angry- I could feel it." he mumbled.

Severus' shoulders slumped, his heart aching for the boy. "Harry, you were dying, you needed those potions in order to save your life, we did all the work it took to heal you because we wanted to help you. And I wasn't angry at you," Severus reached forward and placed his hand on Harry's knee "I was angry at whoever did this to you, as well as at your sire who seemed to have abandoned you." Harry looked up at him confused, about to ask once more what a sire was, Poppy waved her hand "Another topic for another moment, my dear," she said, practically hearing his question. "what we need to know Harry, is who did this to you?" she asked, trying to keep the pain out of her voice.

Harry glanced up at the exits again, and Severus had the good sense to lock the doors so that if he tried to escape, he wouldn't make it out of the room. "I can't tell you," he whispered, his breathing picking up "if I tell you it will only make things worse for when I return next year!" the panic in his eyes was easily seen, and Severus summoned a calming draught, somehow convincing the panicked student to take it. Harry did, and as the potion took affect he slumped down on his bed, laying on his side and curling up into a ball.

"If you tell us who did this to you, we can make sure you do not have to return." poppy explained gently, Harry shook his head,

"I tried to tell Dumbledore! But he didn't believe me!" he squeezed his eyes shut as the tears pricked at his eyes.

"We are not Dumbledore, Harry," he heard Severus say soothingly, and somehow despite himself, he found himself relaxing and trusting the man. He wanted to believe him, wanted to believe that they would make it so that he didn't have to return. Between the calming draught and the feeling of safety emanating from the adults in front of him, Harry found himself relaxing and talking. "My uncle is the one who does most of the damage," he started quietly, keeping his eyes down "although my aunt and cousin do their fair share, as well. Dudley likes to play 'Harry hunting', and aunt Petunia always shoves my hand on the stove-top when I burn or mess up the food somehow, she also likes to swing at me with her frying pan. Uncle Vernon, though," Harry shivered "he just straight up beats me. He kicks and punches and screams and degrades and there have been so many times where I wished I was dead." he lets out a shaky breath.

The adults next to him stiffened, and he opened his eyes in time to see Severus cast the same charm Poppy had done earlier, with the silvery mist creature sprouting from his wand. He noticed Severus' animal was a doe, and he mumbled something to it before it trotted out of the room. Harry watched it go in fascination, he still didn't know all that magic had to offer, and it really amazed him.

Severus sent his Patronus with a message to Kingsley Shacklebolt, one of the head aurors in the entire ministry. He knew that the man wasn't head of the child welfare department, but he knew that by getting it to Kingsley, it would get to where it needed to go without being ignored.

"Harry, I promise on my magic that you will not go back to that horrid place ever again." Severus said vehemently, he couldn't help the warm feeling at the sight of trust in the small boys eyes. Severus looked at Poppy, a question on his face. Poppy finally nodded, having gotten the main issue out of the way. She stood and walked into her office, getting ready the paperwork the aurors would want once they showed up.

"Now Harry," Severus started, turning back to his student, Harry looked at him cautiously "about you being a vampire-"

"Am I going to be kicked out of Hogwarts?!" Harry blurted out, interrupting Severus' sentence. Harry placed his hand over his mouth as he realized that he interrupted, and he started apologizing quickly. Severus held up his hand and noticed with surprise that Harry didn't flinch away from him. "No Harry, you will not be expelled. Magical creatures have been coming to Hogwarts for centuries." he reassured the boy.

Harry's shoulders slumped and he nodded, focusing his eyes on his professor, determined to soak up every bit of information that his head of house was willing to give him.

"I saw on your injury list that you were turned after a suicide attempt?" the sentence was phrased as a question, but they both know he wasn't asking. Harry nodded "y-yeah. I… I was so sick of them treating me so poorly, I was in pain all the time. I just wanted out, my parents had died all those years ago, why couldn't I have as well?" Harry started to tell Severus his story from the night he was turned.

*_flashback*_

_A ten year old Harry Potter sat at his desk in his muggle elementary school, not really paying attention to the picture he was supposed to be coloring in. for some reason, his ears picked up on a conversation a few desks away,_

"_Jimmy! Why haven't you been in class! Teacher won't tell us anything." a little girl asked her friend, talking in a hushed tone so their teacher wouldn't catch them._

"_My sister was in the hospital," the little boy, Jimmy, replied. "She uh, hurt herself."_

"_How did she do that? Did she fall off her bike or her skateboard or something like that?" _

_The little boy made a weird face, and he shook his head "She uh, she cut herself. Across her wrists with a razor blade."_

_The girl gasped and her hand flew to her mouth "Why would she do that?" _

"_Dad mentioned something about her being in a lot of pain on the inside, and needed to reflect it on the outside? I don't really understand."_

"_Is she going to be okay?"_

"_yeah, I heard the doctor say that she was lucky she was cutting across her arms, because if she had cut down, she most likely would have died."_

"_Oh, Jimmy I'm so sorry."_

"_it's okay Sara, let's talk about something else."_

_Harry listened to the conversation and it gave him an idea. Maybe he could cut down his wrists, and he could die? Maybe he wouldn't be so sad all the time. _

_Later that afternoon, Harry found himself at the wrong end of Vernon's fists. He was shaking and crying and so desperate for an escape. His relatives didn't lock him in the cupboard right away, as the sun was still out, they told him to go play outside because they couldn't stand to look at him anymore. _

_Harry was still crying from the beating, but he made his way outside. He stopped by the garage first and grabbed a razorblade from the work bench. He held it in his hands and the feel of the metal on his skin terrified and excited him. _

_He started to walk away from the house, but it didn't take long for his walking to turn into full on sprinting. He ran for a long time, so long that it was nearly dark out by the time he stepped into an empty alleyway between two apartment buildings. His legs gave out from the running, Harry collapsed onto the cold concrete as if it was a soft bed. _

_Harry noticed the razor he had stolen was still in his hand, he stared down at it for a while before sitting up. He leaned against the wall of the building before taking the razor and placing it to his skin. He took a deep breath and then dragged the metal down from the top of his wrist to the crook of his elbow. He groaned as he did it, it hurt so bad to cut open his skin, but he did it down the other arm as well- this is what he wanted, this is what he needed, an escape, a way out. _

_Once the second arm was cut, Harry placed the razor on the ground next to him and he leaned his head back against the wall behind him. The pain in his arms didn't sting as bad as it had, it felt like his arms were radiating pain in waves, like a pulse- it soothed him. _

_It was dark out now, the only light coming from the streetlamp a few feet away from the alleys entrance, but it didn't reach him. For that reason, he wasn't worried when he heard footsteps on the sidewalk outside one of the apartment buildings. They couldn't see him, he couldn't see them, it would be fine. He froze however when he watched the shadow of somebody walk past the ally before stopping and backtracking. The silhouetted figure hadn't looked at Harry yet, in fact, they had been looking in the complete opposite direction as they were walking. But the person slowly turned to look in the ally. _

_They stood still for a while, just looking into the dark alley like they would be able to see anything. Finally, they pulled out a flashlight and turned it on. Although, in the glow of the object, Harry swore it was way too long and thin to be a flashlight. The light moved in as the person did, before finally revealing Harry against the wall, wrists bleeding out._

_Harry was fading, all he could focus on was the soothing pulse of pain that was coming from his wrists. Even when the person, Harry now noticed was a man thanks to the "flashlight", had shined the light over to unveil Harry, he couldn't bring it in himself to care. He blinked sluggishly up at the man, he heard him gasp when he finally processed the scene in front of him. _

_Harry looked away from the man, and he found his eyes drooping, he no longer had the energy to keep them open. He barely noticed the other man kneel in front of him and pick up his arms, or the way he cursed under his breath, or how he tore off his scarf and ripped it in two, tying the pieces around his arms to try and stop the bleeding. _

_But it didn't work, the blood just kept coming, soaking right through the fabric. Harry could feel something other than his blood seeping out of him, seeming to pour out from the pores all over his body. The man gasped, and he thought he heard him say something about "magical", but he wasn't sure. Harry turned towards the man and blinked up at him again, his vision fuzzy even with his glasses on. _

_He watches as the other moved to mimic Harry's position against the wall, then Harry feels an arm under his knees and an arm behind his back lifting him up and placing him in the other's lap gently. "hmmm?" Harry hummed confused. The man shushes him gently, _

"_I am so sorry. Please forgive me, child," Harry heard the man whisper, before he felt the other crane his neck, and then a sharp pain along the vein. Harry didn't know what was going on, he just let it happen. The puncture of his neck wasn't what hurt, as Harry was still focused on the pulsing coming from his arms. What hurt was the hot, stinging, burning feeling that came after. Harry shouted at the pain, and he could feel whatever it was moving throughout his bloodstream, before encompassing his entire body. He let out another shout as it felt like he was on fire, and when he looked down at his arms, he could see the cuts stitching themselves back together. _

_The man pulled away from his neck, he began to cradle Harry to his chest and continue to shush him. "Hush, my childe, (chilled-ey) it will be over soon." Harry felt calm, and warm, and oh so very tired, he leaned into the man in front of him. _

_There were popping noises outside the alleyway, and then voices. The man he was laying on stiffened, he picked Harry up so he could stand. Harry could still feel the stinging through his veins when he finally looked up, a group of people in robes taking a step into the alley. He heard the man holding him say something, then the world faded again._

_Harry woke up the next morning in his cupboard, starting from hearing his cousin jump on the stairs above him. He wondered briefly if it had all been a dream, but when he looked in the mirror while he was brushing his teeth that morning, the two puncture scars on his neck proved to him that it wasn't. _

_*end flashback*_

Harry finished his story, looking up at his professor finally when he was done. Harry was thankful Severus hadn't interrupted him while he explained what he remembered from the night he was turned. He watched Severus think and Harry thought he could hear the gears grinding in his head.

"What do you know about vampires?" Severus finally asked after a pregnant pause, Harry looked at him a bit surprised, he wasn't expecting that to be the first question,

"uhm, not much, mostly just that I'm supposed to drink blood. The library doesn't have any books on the subject, not even in the restricted section, and the bookstore in Diagon alley doesn't have any either, at least not that I could see. I looked, I swear!" He said the last part as if Severus was going to deny that Harry had ever been to the library or a bookstore. Severus pursed his lips.

"The man who bit you? He is called your sire, and you are a fledgling, you are his childe- which translates into "child" or "my child" in the vampire world. You are still within your nearly infant stage of your vampirism, being a fledgling. You are supposed to feed from your sire for the first few years of your transformation, and they usually take over the role of a parent or guardian, especially when their childe is young. They usually teach you how to hunt or how to go about getting blood donors, depending on how old school your sire is." He paused and rubbed his forehead, "Usually if vampire turns someone, they will bring that person back to their coven to keep them safe and to make sure they are fed and taken care of." Severus' anger started to bubble up again, "You said in your story people in robes showed up? Potentially aurors, wizards for sure. How could your sire just leave you with them?!" his voice was starting to rise, but he calmed it as he saw the look on Harrys face. "I am sorry for my anger, but your sire abandoned you, and that infuriates me because, especially as a child, you deserved better." Severus explained, his voice a bit clipped. Severus took a deep breath, going over all the people from his past that he knew were either vampires or connected to someone who was,

"do you ever feel something that is almost like somebody has tied a rope to your chest and they are tugging you someplace?"

Harry took the time to think for a moment, trying to remember any time he had felt a pull. He frowned "I think I remember feeling that one time when I was in Diagon alley, but it was faint. For the most part, I just feel empty." he winces as the mentioned emptiness in his chest intensified. Now that Harry knew what a sire was, and realized that his had abandoned him, he couldn't help the emotions that filled him. He choked out a sob and looked at his professor, who's face showed his alarm from Harry's sudden mood change. "If he didn't want me, either, then why didn't he just let me die in the first place?" Harry somehow managed to get out, despair in his voice, "why couldn't he have just let me die? I was content, I was happy, I wasn't going to be in pain anymore, and he took it all away-" Harry couldn't speak any more as sobs racked his body. Severus did the only thing he knew how to do, he stood and sat on the edge of Harry's bed, pulling the broken boy into a firm hug. He rocked Harry back and forth,

"I don't know, Harry, but I will do what I can to find out why." he said sincerely before he quieted and just let the boy in his arms sob.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

It was a few weeks after the day Harry woke up, and he was back in classes again, had been for at least 2 weeks. He didn't have to keep up extensive glamour's anymore, except on his red eye and his fangs, which he had to keep hidden from the others in the castle. He still wasn't doing well, Severus made him drink a goblet of animal blood every morning, but it wasn't enough to sustain him. while it kept the starvation at bay, Severus knew the boys malnutrition wouldn't get any better without his sire.

Once Harry had come back from his stay in the hospital wing, the other Slytherins helped integrate him into their house seamlessly. Harry was becoming close friends with Draco, Blaise, and Pansy, which Severus liked to see. Harry was surprised that on the first day of his return to classes that Ron and the twins came over to sit with him, as if the house change never occurred and they were still sitting at the Gryffindor table. Usually students didn't sit at any house table that wasn't theirs. Harry watched the head table as McGonagall was about to stand and walk towards them to separate them, but then he saw Severus grab her arm. They exchanged a few heated words, and then a sentence from Dumbledore had McGonagall fuming up in her seat and Severus smirking in triumph. Harry was glad that he hadn't lost the three Weasleys, and he introduced them and his Slytherin trio to each other. They got along surprisingly well once the differences were put aside.

The first time Harry had tried to hang out outside of class and meals with his friends, they had gone to the Gryffindor common rooms to just chat. But the second Harry stepped into the common room, a hex came flying at him, and he was told that he wasn't welcome in the Gryffindor's space. Harry took a deep breath and held back his tears, putting on a mask of indifference, he nodded his head and left, surprised to see his three redheads following him. They instead decided to meet in the Slytherin common rooms. Some of the older years had been hesitant at first, and even Severus didn't like the idea, but the Weasleys did nothing but be polite and respectful to the others, so they were allowed to stay.

In the meantime, as Harry integrated back into school life after his rough summer and weeklong trip to the infirmary, Severus was doing what he could to try to track down Harry's sire, both for Harry's health and sanity, but also so Severus could tell the vampire exactly how he felt about what he did to the boy. After healing Harry, and their conversations in the hospital wing, Severus no longer saw the boy as James Potter reincarnate, or even as Lily Potter's son. He saw Harry as Harry, like he was any of his other little snakes, and they formed an easy student-mentor relationship after that.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

Severus looked through the vampire registry at the ministry, but he found very little that could help him, most vampires went unregistered anyway, for their safety, and Severus couldn't blame them. Most of the ones that were registered were made to do so by force. Severus sighed as he continued to try to find anything that would lead him towards the older vampire. Suddenly it hit him, during his story of his turning, Harry had said the alleyway was in between two muggle apartment buildings, if Severus could find the alley, he could search for anybody magically suspicious.

Severus looked at a map of the area Harry was from and looked to see where any apartment buildings were in the vicinity, and he had found the strip of concrete he was looking for. Severus peeked into the alleyway and could sense an old, wavering magical signature that felt slightly like Harry's, but different. Severus realized it must have been the boys signature before he was turned, having leaked out of him as he lay dying. Severus shivered, the thought of his student lying on the ground bleeding to death did nothing to ease his discomfort. He looked around to make sure nobody was around or watching, then he changed into his Animagus form. His form was a Large black crow, which Severus thought suited him nicely- he flew over and perched himself on the light post that was outside of the ally. It was a Sunday morning, and he had no obligations, so he sat, and he waited.

Severus was half asleep on the streetlight he had chosen to stay on, when he heard footsteps on the stone. When Severus opened his eyes, he realized it was dark and he cursed to himself. What if he missed the man he was looking for?

He stopped in his musings, however, when he watched the man walk over to just under the light, and Severus could feel the man's magical signature, it was vaguely familiar. He watched as the man, dressed in non-descript clothing, stepped into the alleyway and cast a silent Lumos, searching the entire street for something, even looking behind a dumpster and in the corners. When he didn't find what he was looking for, his shoulders slumped, and he cancelled his Lumos spell. Severus flew off his lamp post and followed the silhouette of the man down the street. The man entered into one of the apartment buildings, Severus watched only for a moment longer before flying away- he knew that man, knew that face, knew that magical signature, and once he realized exactly who he had seen looking around the alley, his anger grew.

The next morning Severus found himself back at the apartment building, in human form this time. Despite it being a Monday morning, this couldn't wait any longer. He could feel the others magic signature through the walls of the muggle building and he had to fight to reign his anger and magic back in before he blew up the man and the building around him. He took a deep breath and followed the signature to the third floor, apartment 3A. A scowl plastered on his face, he knocked firmly on the door.

The man who opened the door looked no more than Severus' age. He was tall and skinny, yet muscular at the same time. He had long black hair that was still wet form a shower and was slicked back to keep it off of the owners face. Severus' scowl only deepened when he came face to face with his old… coworker, Rebastan Lestrange.

"Severus?" the man asked, his eyebrows furrowing. He hadn't seen the man in nearly 10 years, what was he doing at his doorstep on a Monday morning in October? Nevertheless, he opened his door wider to allow the man entrance. Severus billowed in, 'still as temperamental as always,' Rebastan thought. He was going to offer the man tea, but at the look on Severus' face he decided against it.

"to what do I owe the pleasure of a visit, Severus?" he asked politely. Rebastan had followed the dark lord in his younger years, but much like Severus, he left shortly before he was killed. When he had found out that the dark lord had been defeated, he was relieved. He'd been living in muggle London for 7 or so years now, and he held a respectable job and kept out of trouble. Being a vampire helped with the whole hiding thing, as well. Rebastan's eye twitched slightly, he was not only confused about why Severus was there, but how he found Rebastan in the first place was even more of a mystery.

Severus glowered, he had half a mind to just torture the man where he stood, but he took a deep breath to calm himself, maiming the man would do his student no good. "Well L_estrange,_" Severus all but spat the name "I have a bone or two to pick with you." He saw Rebastan open his mouth to speak, looking indignant. He was in the middle of something much more important, and if Severus was just going to stand there and complain about god knows what he did all those years ago, then Rebastan had better things to do with his time. Severus started talking before the other could get the words out, though. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" he couldn't keep his anger in anymore, remembering he was in the muggle world he put a silencing charm up over the apartment before he turned to face Rebastan again, "I know you're a vampire, and I know you are a singlet and you don't belong to a coven or family, but that gives you no bloody right to TURN a child, and then immediately ABANDON THEM!" Severus was fuming, he saw the wide eyes of the ex-death eater and it only fueled him on more. "The boy was STARVING Lestrange! Literally a mere moment away from death-" he was suddenly caught off guard and his anger stunted when he found himself being pushed up against a nearby wall. Severus looked into the now red eyes in front of him, and he swallowed thickly. Maybe screaming at a vampire wasn't a good idea, no matter how pissed off you were.

Rebastan heard the words Severus shouted at him, and he felt the room around him swallow into the earth as he realized what the man was saying. This man knew of his Childe, knew his Childe personally, knew who and where the boy Rebastan himself had been spending the last year and a half desperately searching for, was. He could feel the blood rushing to his ears, his instincts got the better of him and he balled his hands in Severus' robes and shoved him into the wall behind them. Rebastan knew he needed to calm down, knew he needed to regain control of himself before he went on some wild rampage, but his Childe was alone, and starving, and he needed to get to him. Now.

"You know where my Childe is?" he hissed, his hands gripping the others robes tighter. Severus felt intimidated but didn't allow anything in his face to show it.

"Yes, I do. But why should I tell you? You left him in a cold alleyway and-" he was halted by the man pulling him back and slamming him into the wall again, Severus felt lucky he managed not to hit his head against the drywall.

"Snape," Rebastan's voice was barely more than a whisper, but his eyes flashed with something Severus couldn't quite identify. "the Sire-Childe bond grew cold, I looked everywhere for my Childe, am still looking everywhere for him, I have only ever felt the pull one time, and it was so faint I didn't even have time to react before it was gone." He hissed, "Abandoned him? You think I abandoned him? He shouted from the venom, and aurors ran towards us, apparently they were looking for him anyway. They stunned me and took my boy away from me, pulled him out of my arms and disappeared with him." he spoke incredibly calm for somebody who was about to fly into a killer rampage, "And if you do not bring me to my Childe right now, I will rip out your esophagus and wear it as a necklace." he hissed in his ear. Severus couldn't help the fear that ran down his spine at the very, very angry vampires words.

"I cannot apparate us to Hogsmeade in my current position." he snapped. Rebastan calmed, some tension leaving his body, the man was going to take him to his Childe, things would be okay.

Severus mumbled something about idiots before he grabbed onto the other man and apparated them outside of the Hogwarts gates. When they landed, Rebastan sniffed the air, his Childe was here and he needed to get to him. The sire-Childe bond flared to life and he felt a painful tug towards the fledgling. Rebastan made to sprint towards the castle, but Severus grabbed his arm,

"If you barge into that school the way that you are, you will never make it to your Childe before someone restrains you." He said firmly, Rebastan wanted to argue but forced himself to calm at least somewhat. He put the glamour's back on his eyes and his fangs, he forced himself to walk calmly towards the castle.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

Harry was in transfiguration when he felt it. There was a sharp pain in his chest, the pull so strong it yanked him out of his seat. Thankfully, it just looked like he had stumbled while trying to stand so nobody paid him any mind, except for Draco who was sitting on his left and Ron who was sitting on his right. "Harry, mate!" Ron exclaimed, helping his friend up off of the floor. Harry was clutching his chest and his breathing sped up. He tried to regain his composure, and for a moment he was able to ignore the feeling in his chest and work on the lesson. But the pull only got stronger and Harry found himself unable to think of anything else. He was confused, he had no idea what was going on, he was trying to think when his mind simply said, 'he's here'.

With that realization he jumped from his seat and practically ran towards the door. He grabbed the handle and pulled, but it didn't budge, Harry felt his heart fall into the pit of his stomach. "No… no no no!" he whispered frantically.

"Mr. Potter!" McGonagall called from the opposite side of the room, "Where do you think you're going without permission?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. While she didn't treat him as badly as the other Gryffindor's did, she certainly wasn't as kind to him as she once was. Harry cursed as he remembered the wards McGonagall had placed on her classroom to keep wayward students from sneaking out without permission. His breathing became erratic as he just pulled on the door harder. The pull in his chest just got stronger and stronger the more he struggled.

When McGonagall didn't receive an answer, she placed her hands on her hips and Harry could feel the wards on the door becoming stronger. "No!" Harry cried out, "No he's here! Let me out! I have to go!" he was full on crying now, normally he would be embarrassed by this, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. He needed to get out, he needed to get to his sire.

"Potter you will tell me this instant what you are blubbering on about!" Minerva shouted; Harry looked back at her like she was stupid. "He's here! He's here and it hurts! Let me out!" he yelled, the students in the class were watching with rapt attention, similar to the way you can't look away from a train crash. Harry kept struggling and McGonagall kept demanding answers.

"Professor! Can you not see how distressed he is? He needs to go!" Ron shouted at her, but she ignored him as well.

Harry felt as the pull stopped coming closer, still, and then seemed to be fading. He started to panic "No! He's getting farther away!" his magic started to crackle in the room around him, and all the students silently moved to the corner that was as far away from him as possible, although McGonagall stood her ground. "Let me out let me out let me out! Please!" Harry sobbed, he turned to look back at his old head of house who was standing and staring at him defiantly. Usually if a student was in this much distress, she would have opened the door and let them leave without an explanation, but it was Potter, and she didn't feel like being nice. The only student to ever be resorted, and out of her house into Slytherin no less! What were the Gryffindor's not good enough for him? Special Potter always getting special treatment because a curse rebounded off of his head when he was an infant. He didn't get the privilege of being special today. She glowered at him, "No." was her simple answer, and suddenly the room changed.

Harry's glamour's fell, his one red eye popping into existence and the sharpness of his fangs could just be seen from behind his lips. He turned to the door, the pressure in the air was so high that the students thought the room would explode, and well, they were kind of right. Suddenly the door exploded off of its hinges, crashing into the wall on the other side of the hallway. Harry was out the door and running as soon as the door barged open, McGonagall called after him furious, but he didn't stop sprinting down the hallway. He let the pull in his chest guide him, not really knowing nor caring exactly where he was going, he only cared about who he was going to.

Rebastan was standing in the threshold of the castle when he felt it, his Childe's first reaction to his presence. He could feel the pain and confusion through their bond, and he almost started running towards him, but Severus grabbed his arm again and just steered him through the castle. For a few moments Rebastan felt the child calm, which in turn caused him to calm. It didn't help that the pull in his chest grew stronger the more they went in the direction that would lead to the boy.

They got to a certain point in their walking and Rebastan paused, he could feel the distress coming through the bond, "Severus," he stopped the man, his eyes wide "there is something wrong, I-" Severus shook his head to get him to stop,

"It will all be fine in a minute," his old friend said soothingly. They kept walking and the more they went into the castle the more distressed the boy on the other end of the line got. Rebastan was doing his best to stay calm, but his Childe was so close, and so distraught, and he needed to get to him. Suddenly, Severus pulled him down a staircase and into the dungeons. The pull started to weaken as the two got farther apart, he could feel his Childe's emotions through their bond- fear, need, panic, those were the strongest of them. They finally reached Severus' office, and Rebastan sat down on a chair. They heard a loud bang come from somewhere above them, and then the vampire gasped as the bond started to pull at him harder and harder.

Severus floo'd McGonagall in her classroom, Rebastan could hear the Gryffindor screeching through the fire when Severus politely asked her to send Mr. Potter to his office. 'Potter… Potter, my Childe is Harry Potter…' Rebastan thought, suddenly he stood, and ran out of the office before Severus could get to him. the pull in his chest becoming too much to not to act on. He sprinted down the halls of the dungeon, not stopping until he literally collided with another person, they both fell to the floor as they ran into one another.

Harry was running, at one point some far away part of his brain told him he was in the dungeons, but he really wasn't paying attention as he just kept making his way further down the halls. He didn't stop until he was forced to, he ran into somebody much taller than him. he fell back onto his back, he sat up to look and see what or who he had run into. Red eyes met one green and one red eye, and before Harry knew what he was doing he lunged at the other man in front of him.

Rebastan gasped when he looked up into the green and red eyes, the bond was starting to settle, but then it flared and Rebastan found himself with his arms full of 12 year old. He wrapped his arms tightly around the boy, trying to calm him, but Harry was frantic. He was trying to get closer even if there was no closer to even get. Rebastan sent calm through their bond and he shushed his Childe gently, he ran his hands through the boy's hair, and he felt Harry relax just a bit, although he was trembling in his arms. "shh Childe, it is okay, I am here." Rebastan soothed. He kept his arms around the boy and picked him up, carrying him back to Severus' office.

Severus had just pulled himself out of a fire call with Minerva McGonagall, he rubbed his ears as they had started to ring from her shrieks. She was ranting and raving about something or other to do with her classroom door, then when he told her he couldn't understand she just yelled that they'd talk later. He turned when he heard his office door opening, and he sighed in relief "Good, you have found each other, I have classes and a stupid lion I must attend to. Rebastan I trust you will keep him safe?" he asked, raising his eyebrow. The man just held Harry tighter and Severus nodded before he left.

Rebastan sat down in the couch Severus had in his office, placing Harry down in his lap. He held the crying boy and ran his fingers through his hair for a long while, he felt Harry nudge closer to him, his nose resting on the crook of Rebastan's neck. He knew the boy was thirsty, hell, he knew he was practically starving, and yet Harry didn't ask to feed. Rebastan's heart broke and he bared his neck for the boy "Come my Childe, feed."

Harry was crying, he was frantic, he was doing everything he could to try to get closer to the man in front of him. He knew he was acting like a child, but he didn't care. He needed to get closer, needed to feel his sire close. When Rebastan picked him up and started carrying him down the halls, Harry snuggled closer. He didn't even hear Severus as he spoke and left, but when Rebastan sat down and started running his fingers through his hair, Harry found himself calming. His throat was dry, it burned, and he was so hungry, but what if his sire didn't want him?

The pull in his chest had eased now that he was with Rebastan. He leaned into the man under him and Harry found himself with his nose pressed against his sires neck. He took a deep breath and smelt Rebastan's blood, he melted at the scent alone. He was hungry, and he just wanted to bite down on the neck in front of him and drink. But Rebastan hadn't told him specifically that he could feed, so he didn't. Harry thought maybe he was in trouble, and that's why the man left. Harry had done something wrong somehow and he didn't deserve to feed.

That was his thinking, anyway, until he felt Rebastan bare his neck. Harry whimpered, almost drowning out the sound of Rebastan telling him it was okay to drink from him. Harry didn't have to be told twice, he moved his head a bit so he was in a comfortable position for both of them, and with his hands on his sire's shoulders he bit down. The blood filled his mouth and it tasted so good that he couldn't help the large swallows he was taking. He felt Rebastan hold him closer, and it only encouraged him more.

Rebastan closed his eyes when he felt Harry bite down and start sucking. His arms only tightened around the boy, he moved one hand to the back of his head, cradling him there as he fed. He felt so much love and warmth for the boy, and he knew it transferred down his bond as he felt a large amount of tension leave Harry's body. He kept feeding, and Rebastan let him go for as long as he needed. The first feed usually was the longest, but with Harry having been deprived for so long it was taking especially long. He felt Harry slowly pull away, licking the bite shut before murmuring a slurred "thank you." as he melted into his sire. He was asleep before Rebastan could even respond.

Rebastan looked down at his boy, his Childe, and he smiled a watery smile. He moved them so he was laying on his back and Harry was snuggly against his side with his head on Rebastan's chest. The older vampire pet the boys head with one hand and ran a finger along his spine with the other. After a minute he felt his eyes dropping, also tired from the long feeding. He closed his eyes and succumbed to sleep as well.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

Severus walked down the hallways of the castle and up several flights of stairs to make it up to the second year transfiguration class to speak to his colleague. As he waked down the hallway that the classroom was on, he raised his eyebrow and the broken door across the hall from where it was supposed to be. That must have been what that bang from earlier was. He walked closer and he could feel Harry's magic still lingering in the air, and his anger started to rise, knowing already that this wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation.

McGonagall was inside her classroom, but she wasn't teaching, instead she was pacing back and forth in the front of the room. The students were all still huddled along the opposite side of the room, talking amongst themselves. When they saw Severus walk in though, they instantly quieted, this was going to be… interesting.

Severus walked in the room with a blank mask on his face, it wouldn't do well to show his anger so soon.

"Minerva?" he called out to her. She stopped her pacing and turned on him with eyes full of rage, apparently, they didn't share the same sentiments on anger.

"Snape!" she rounded on him, "One of your students has blown my classroom door right off of its hinges! It is in pieces! I demand to give him detention!"

Severus only raised an eyebrow, "What exactly happened here Minerva?"

Apparently, she wasn't expecting that kind of calm, and she found herself faltering "Mr. potter exploded the door after I explicitly told him he could not leave the classroom!"

His eyes flashed dangerously, and Severus saw as the woman in front of him took a subtle half step backwards. "And why was he not allowed to leave?"

"Because he ran to the door and tried to leave without permission! You may not mind students walking out of your classes Severus, but I don't take kindly to it!"

Severus unconsciously sneered at the woman. "Did he ask to leave after he noticed the door was locked?"

Minerva thought she had the jump on him, "No! He just demanded I let him out! Like he is above the rules and they don't pertain to him!"

"Demanded, more like begged." came the murmured voice of one of the students, Severus turned towards Pansy, who was one of the students standing in the corner.

"Miss Parkinson," Severus asked in a level voice, "what do you mean by that?"

Pansy looked down at the floor as she felt the steady gaze of Snape as well as the unwavering rage of McGonagall on her. "He… he…" she started. "He ran to the door and was pulling on the handle and it wouldn't open and he was freaking out, he kept begging for her to let him out and she wouldn't, she just kept telling him to explain what he was talking about." she finished in a small voice.

Another voice spoke up, Theodore Nott called out "He was organizing the owlery with Dumbledore!"

While none of the Gryffindor's understood what it meant, Severus surely did. His eyes swiveled to the rest of the group of Slytherins standing about. "With Dumbledore? Not with Binns or Flitwick?" he asked, his voice was an eerie calm, and all the snakes knew just how pissed off he was.

"Definitely not Flitwick or binns." Nott spoke again.

Draco Malfoy takes a step forward to catch his godfathers attention, when he made sure he was looking the other in the eye he said, "Professor, if not with Dumbledore, it had to have been Merlin himself."

Severus lost it. He turned on his colleague seeing red, his jaw was clenched and his fists were balled at his sides "You DARE demand to give detentions to a student who was in so much emotional distress that he literally couldn't form proper sentences?!" he shouted, and Minerva this time took a full two steps back, but Severus just advanced on her. "Who do you think you are that you think it is okay to just ignore a child's needs!" he was furious, and there was so much more he needed to say to her, but not with the students around "Go!" he snapped, pointing towards the door. Everyone was quick to leave, except for Ron and Draco who hesitated "Is he okay?" Ron asked quickly, mostly out the door but just needing to know his best friend was okay.

Snape gave a curt nod, Draco and Ron nodded back before leaving. Snape waved his wand and a strong silencing charm was placed on the room.

"Not only," he starts, turning back on the woman, who was looking rather pale, "did you just lock him in this room Minerva. You locked a child from a horribly abusive household in your classroom! A child who has been locked in a cupboard his entire life unable to get out without his disgusting relatives unlocking it! And maybe you would have fucking known that if you cared enough about your students to bring them to the hospital wing at the beginning of the term so Poppy can check and make sure that everything is okay! Just because you had a happy childhood doesn't mean everybody else gets that same privilege! And maybe your little game would have been okay on another student, but when you see a child getting so distressed that their magic is literally roaming freely around the room, you stop! You are a sadistic and vile person if for the sake of some stupid pride you have for your house that you emotionally torture a child! I know you are angry that he was resorted, I can see it on your face! You think he had some control over it? Like he went up to the sorting hat in Dumbledore's office and arranged for this to happen?! You know just as well as I do that the sorting hat doesn't change his mind, and the one time he does you think it's a fluke?" he was shouting, and at this point rambling, but he didn't care.

"Not only is your little grudge against Potter unwarranted, but it is also stupid and childish! And had Harry not blown up that door he could have possibly hurt or killed everybody in this classroom to find a way out! Did you see his eye? His fangs, when his glamour dropped from the panic, Minerva? You can't fake that level of panic! That level of anxiety!" he should have shut up, but his silencing charms were strong, and he wasn't worried about anybody overhearing.

"He tried to kill himself when he was 10, Minerva. Ten years old and in so much pain that he tried to kill himself. He was turned into a vampire to save his life and then he was immediately taken away from his sire. He has never fed from his sire, doesn't even know who the man is, has never been in his presence and suddenly the man is in the castle. Would you not be trying to get out too? He has been starving for almost 2 years, and you were the one to keep him from getting to the one person he needs the most as a fledgling! If he had snapped and gone into a blood rage, it would have been your fault! And I hope you know just how severe this infraction is when I take it to Dumbledore. You were a good woman Minerva, it's a shame that's changed."

Before she could say anything in response, Severus swept from the room. He could have easily fixed her door, but he wanted her to have to look at it and be reminded of her mistakes.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

Severus made it back to his office and when he walked in, he smiled just a bit at the sight in front of him. Harry lay on Rebastan, curled up into his side. Rebastan's hand was resting on the child's back and he held him close. They were both fast asleep, Severus knew the first feeding must have been tough, especially since Harry had been starved for so long. He changed the couch under them into a bed, he penned a quick note to let them know where he was if they needed him, dimmed the lights, and left the pair to their bonding time.

Harry didn't wake up until almost dinner time, he lifted his hand to his face and rubbed the crud out of his eyes, when he blinked his eyes open, he realized he was lying in a bed curled up with his sire. Harry felt warmth spread through him, he cuddled closer. He could feel Rebastan stir under him,

"mmm?" the man hummed, still groggy from waking up, he immediately went back to rubbing Harry's back. "hello, my Childe," he whispered, Harry practically vibrated in happiness at the attention.

He felt his happiness diminish greatly however, and he couldn't stop the tears that started running down his face again. "why did you leave me?" Harry choked out, "why did you not want me?"

Rebastan's breath hitched and he sat them up, cradling the small boy to his chest. Harry calmed slightly at the sound of Rebastan's heartbeat, but it wasn't enough to get him to stop crying.

"I wanted you, my Childe, I did not have any intentions of leaving you. You had shouted, when I turned you, and aurors were already looking for you since you had been missing from your home, so they came into the alleyway. I tried to keep them away, I tried to apparate us, but they put me in a body bind before I could, and they took you away from me. I am so sorry, Harry, so, so sorry." he whispered, rocking them back and forth.

"S-so you didn't leave me with the Dursleys because you didn't want me?"

"Of course not, Childe, I have been trying to find you since they took you from me, but I didn't even know where to start. I checked the alley every day, to see if you had made your way back. I did everything I could to find you, I'm sorry that it wasn't enough."

Harry relaxed into the embrace as his sobs started to die down. "papa…" Harry mumbled, almost unconsciously as he breathed in Rebastan's scent and could feel his magic and could hear his heartbeat. He whimpered, however, when he felt Rebastan stiffen underneath him.

"I-I'm sorry!" he said quickly, trying to pull away. Rebastan only held him closer.

"Shhh, my heart, I am not upset," he soothed, Harry relaxed back into the embrace. "I was surprised, but not upset, in fact- I would be more than delighted for you to call me papa." he hummed gently.

"Papa," Harry repeated, melting into the man in front of him, he felt so warm, so safe, so utterly loved. He couldn't remember a time when he felt this way before, he was living for it.

Rebastan just smiled softly and continued to rock and hold him, "Are you hungry?" he asked gently. He felt Harry still and he wondered for a moment if he said something wrong. Harry whimpered,

"y-yes… am… am I allowed to feed?" he questioned, Rebastan felt his heart break, whoever the muggles were that destroyed his Childe this way, they were going to pay.

"Of course, you are allowed to feed, my heart, anytime you need to. I will never withhold it from you, all you need to do is ask or tell me you're hungry, and I will be more than happy to comply." Rebastan said softly as he leaned his neck over, so Harry had better access.

Harry whimpered again and bit down on the neck in front of him, he fed for only about half the time as last time, he licked the wound closed, "Thank you," he whispered, Rebastan shook his head.

"you do not need to thank me for giving you what you need." he ran his fingers through Harry's hair, and they sat like that for a long while.

"A-Are you going to leave again?" Harry whispered, terrified of the answer. He didn't want to ever let go of his sire, let alone be so far away again.

"No, dear, I will be here for when you need me, I will make sure to get a room in the castle, so I am here for as long as you need me to be." he hummed softly, Harry nodded smiling to himself.

"thank you, Papa." Harry whispered, nuzzling the man's neck. Rebastan smiled as he felt the love come through the bond, things were going to be okay.

-HHLL HHLL HHLL-

Minerva was called into Dumbledore's office the next day during the free period before lunch, she knew this wasn't going to be good, but she kept her back straight and her face impassive as she ascended the stairs to the headmasters office. She knocked on the door and heard Albus call her to come in, when she entered, she paused at the two extra men in the room.

One was Severus Snape, even though she knew he had gone to Dumbledore and that's why she was called here today, she assumed it would just be her and Albus talking. The other man, who Minerva felt she vaguely recognized, was glaring at her furiously. She didn't know who he was or why he was here, but when Albus told her to sit, she sat.

"Minerva," Dumbledore said her name slowly, his tone was flat and there was no twinkle in his eye, this really wasn't going to be good.

"Severus has told me about some disturbing actions that happened in your classroom yesterday, care to explain yourself?" he asked, Minerva swallowed,

"We were in the middle of class, and Mr. Potter jumped out of his seat and ran to the door, my classroom is warded so that students can't leave without asking permission first, so when he started pulling on the handle it didn't open. I told him he could not just leave whenever he pleased, and then he blasted the door off of its hinges and ran." She spoke as if that was the end of the story.

Dumbledore's eyes flashed dangerously, "You seem to be missing several important details in your story." Minerva swallowed again,

"The boy was screaming and shouting, I asked what he was going on about, but he would not answer me-"

Minerva was cut off by a quiet growl coming from the unknown person in the room, she saw Severus put a hand on his shoulder to try to calm him down, but it only quieted the growling and not his anger.

"Minerva. Don't take me for a fool, I am not stupid. Students from your classroom volunteered their memories from yesterday, and what I saw disturbed me greatly. Harry was screaming yes, but he was also sobbing. You just stood there and demanded he tell you what was going on, despite his incredibly high amounts of stress. Not only that, but he did in fact answer your question, 'he's here! It hurts! I have to get out!' combined with the panic and crying of your student wasn't enough for you?"

Minerva started stuttering, trying to form some sort of answer to his question, but Albus just shut her up with a look.

"He was begging you to let him out, but you refused. Ronald Weasley tried to interject, but you ignored him as well. Despite the stress he was under, he still managed to say please at the end of his last sentence. To which you coldly replied 'no,' and that is when the boy's magic exploded your door. I could feel in the memory the way the magic filled the space. He could have killed you, himself, or any of his fellow classmates because of your actions! You are lucky the only thing that was damaged was your warded door, Minerva." his voice was cold, Minerva cowered in her seat, he had never been this mad at her before.

"Not only that, but you literally imprisoned a student in your classroom. I get the wards Minerva, but the fact that he was in so much distress and you were so adamant to have the upper hand on him that you wouldn't let him out, that is just cruel. I know Severus has told you of Harry's vampire status, which I myself didn't even know about, but that does not excuse your lack of morality. Saying you didn't know is no viable excuse, because even if it was a normal student you should never do that to a child.

"And another thing, not only is Harry a fledgling vampire who is radically unstable in his emotions, he also comes from an abused home, which makes things worse, and it is something you should check all your students for when they come back from the summer- like the rest of the professors do. Tell me Minerva, if Harry hadn't been resorted would you have let him out?"

Minerva stood up straighter, trying to stand her ground, "I would have done the same thing." she tried to say, but the lie made something pass in Dumbledore's eyes that caused Minerva to shudder.

"Oh, you would have? What about 2 years ago when Gryffindor 7th year Jason Keller was having a panic attack in class? He had run to the door in a similar fashion that Harry had, except it opened after only a few frantic pulls. What do you have to say about that?"

Nothing, was the answer apparently, as she kept her mouth shut. Wise decision.

"Lestrange," Dumbledore said as he turned to the mystery man in the room. That's how Minerva knew him, she had taught him.

"Yes, professor?" Rebastan's voice was clipped, and his eyes never left Minerva.

"Is there anything you would like to add?"

"Yes." Rebastan said, taking a step towards her. "My boy was taken from me almost 2 years ago, I looked everywhere for him, he was starving to death slowly as he didn't have any contact to me, his sire. Had you checked on Harry last year, you would have seen how he doesn't eat real food, or how he never seemed healthy, and you could have done something about it. But you did nothing then, and now you demand to have a say in what is going on now. I had not seen my Childe since his turning, and I was in the castle, close for the first time ever. Do you know what happens when a fledgling is turned? A bond is created between the sire and the changeling. Our bond had been cold for so long because he was taken. But when I was in the castle it flared up, and he felt a burning tug in his chest. It caused him literal physical pain to not get any closer, especially after being apart for so long. I could feel his distress through our bond, McGonagall. He was so scared, so confused, so desperate. And it's your fault," his voice declined until it was practically a hiss. "and if I ever hear about you torturing my Childe again, I can promise you your fate won't be as merciful." He finished and took a step back.

"Minerva," Albus spoke again, she turned to look at him, "Rebastan will be staying in the castle until Harry no longer needs him to be so close, and in that time if I hear of you disrespecting Mr. Lestrange and/or Mr. Potter again, I will have no problems finding a new transfiguration professor."

Minerva nodded dumbly "Yes sir." she answered.

"Good, now get out." He spat, she stood and left.

Dumbledore turned to Rebastan who was still staring after Minerva long after she had left the room, "Rebastan," he called and the vampire turned towards his old headmaster,

"Yes sir?" he replied calmly, his rage slowly fading, Dumbledore stood,

"Shall I show you to your rooms?" he asked, Rebastan nodded and followed the headmaster out of his office and down the halls.

They reached a door that wasn't very far from the Slytherin dorms, Albus instructed him to put his hand on the wood and he did, it gave a faint glow before dissipating. "The door will only open from the outside for you or Harry, anybody else will have to be invited inside. Feel free to decorate them as you please and make yourself at home." Dumbledore gave him a smile before walking away.

Rebastan made his way inside, a small smile on his face, he would have his Childe, he would be near his Childe. He heard the door to the rooms open twenty minutes later,

"Papa?" Harry called as he stepped into the space. Rebastan turned and smiled at his changeling, love filling him when he received a blinding smile in return.

They were together now; things would be okay.


End file.
